


In the Stacks

by lyannastarkweather (welove_gmos)



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Isabelle is a total dork, Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - This World Inverted (Shadowhunters TV), Episode: s01e10 This World Inverted, F/F, First Meetings, Fluff, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 16:51:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9081193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/welove_gmos/pseuds/lyannastarkweather
Summary: Set in an AU of the This World Inverted AU. When Alec drags her to a bookstore called Garroway Books, Isabelle meets a gorgeous redhead who works there.





	

**Author's Note:**

> So the idea for this fic has been bouncing around my head for months after seeing one too many Clizzy moodboards, including this one.
> 
> This fic includes some of my headcanons about Isabelle and the Lightwood family in the This World Inverted AU, of which I have many. Also, there are some headcanons about Clary and her family. Honestly, I have so many headcanons that they've become kind of an AU on their own. Also, in this AU, Clace never happens, and neither does Sizzy.
> 
> Since this is a based on the alternate versions we see of the characters in the This World Inverted AU, I based their personalities on how I think _they_ would act, not the canon versions. So, basically, Isabelle is a totally adorable dork, Alec is confident and out of the closet, etc.

Normally when Alec would attempt to drag her out of their apartment on an early Saturday morning, Isabelle would groan, complain and then tell her brother to stop bugging her so she could go back to sleep. This Saturday, though, was different. 

Isabelle was still brimming with excitement from the day before. Two weeks into her new software development job at the Morgenstern Institute meant that she’d just gotten her first paycheck and she was over the damn moon. At first, she had to do a double take when she read the amount and then, do a little mental math before realizing that there had been no mistake. Her job paid handsomely. She’d known that since the headhunter first offered it to her, but actually seeing amount was something else entirely. It was honestly better than she had hoped for in her first job out of college.

So, when she’d gotten home that afternoon, she’d bounced around the living room a little bit, doing a happy dance because no matter how old she was, Isabelle Lightwood was still an absolute dork. Now, she was a financially independent dork.

As she was still in a great mood, Isabelle was absolutely willing to join her older brother on a Saturday shopping trip, even to one of those stuffy old bookstores he was obsessed with.

Alec, her lovable literature nerd of a brother, actually brought her to a new store this time, one she’d never seen before. _Garroway Books_ was tucked in between two other businesses—a florist and a tarot card reader—in a dated, but charming converted brownstone.

“Are you looking for anything in particular this time?” Isabelle asked Alec.

“Nope,” he answered. “Just browsing. I heard this place has a great Spanish-language section and I’ve almost gone through all of the books _Abuela_ had given us last year.” If there was anyone in their family who enjoyed reading as much as Alec, it had to be their maternal grandmother, who was a retired professor of Latin-American studies. She regularly gifted Alec and Isabelle books from her personal collection in an attempt to keep them in tune with their heritage, and also because Alec actually enjoyed them. Isabelle had read a few of them in the last year or so, but generally found herself distracted by tech stuff. The last gift had been about twenty or so novels, and yet Alec had nearly finished all of them.

“How do you even do that? You’re an event planner. You’re busier than I am!” Isabelle looked to her brother, who didn’t actually answer her, as he was already browsing the store’s first few stacks. She ignored him and chose to venture out into the store on her own to see if anything caught her eye.

And, of course, something did, or rather, _someone_ did.

Somewhere in between the science fiction books and the fantasy novels, Isabelle spotted a girl. She was standing on a low rung of a ladder, busy shelving some books from a cart that sat beside her. Her fiery red hair was tied up in a messy bun to keep it out of her face, which Isabelle appreciated because that way, she got to see just how beautiful this girl was. From her delicate features to the smattering of freckles on her face that traced all the way down her neck to her shoulders. The way she bit her lower lip in concentration as she considered a book before carefully putting it into its proper place on the shelf.

Isabelle probably should’ve stopped starting, but she just couldn’t draw her eyes away.

The girl noticed her when she stepped down. She looked Isabelle’s way and gave her a warm smile, “Hi. Do you need help finding anything?”

They locked eyes and Isabelle’s brain made the executive decision to grind to a near complete halt. This girl was gorgeous— _and those green eyes!_ Isabelle’s brain added, not exactly helpful. Isabelle grasped for words. Finally, after an embarrassing few seconds, she remembered some tiny bit of the English language, just enough to stutter, “No. I—I’m good.”

“Okay then. I’m Clary. I’ll be around if you need anything,” The girl said, pushing the now-empty cart and scooting passed Isabelle to go towards the front of the store. Isabelle just smiled awkwardly at her retreating back and resisted the urge to face-palm.

Instead, she decided to look for her brother. Alec had already found a basket and had filled it with about five books by the time she found him. He seemed to be on the hunt for more and he had that excited gleam in his eyes that Isabelle knew meant he’d found something really interesting.

“You find anything?” He asked her, quite distracted as he read the synopsis on the back of a thick novel.

Isabelle shook her head. “Nope. Just embarrassed myself in front of the cute girl who works here.”

Alec snorted, fully aware of how awkward his sister could be in front of cute people.

When they finally make their way to the front of the store so Alec to pay for his finds, Isabelle saw the attractive girl again. She was manning the register while talking to an also a man—who was also very attractive, _what is with this_ place?—who stood beside her behind the counter. The guy was tall, about the same height as Alec, and wearing glasses that gave him that hot professor kind of look. She immediately recognized him from a notoriously corny commercial for a psychic, where he claimed to be a former cop who decided to follow his passion to open up a used bookstore. _Small world._

Isabelle politely said hi, but kept her head down, choosing to watch her brother instead to avoid a repeat of awkwardness.

She finally allowed herself to breathe once they left the store, which Alec noticed. He always noticed.

“She was totally into you.” He said. Isabelle looked up at him, surprised. “Seriously, she kept staring at you.”

“No way.” Isabelle shook her head.

“Yes, she was.” Alec pressed on. “Maybe you should go back there sometime, get her number.”

“No!” Isabelle almost squeaked. The sheer mortification from the earlier encounter still haunted her. “I can’t go back there ever again!”

“Your loss.” Alec sighed.

 

Turns out, Isabelle didn’t have to go back to Garroway Books to run into Clary again. Nope, all she had to do was show up at work the next week.

As Isabelle walked through the bullpen at the Morgenstern Institute the next Thursday, she saw the redhead again, talking to her boss, Valentine Morgenstern. Out of the corner of his eye, Valentine noticed Isabelle and ushered her over.

He introduced the two girls to each other with the same enthusiasm he seemed to inject into every conversation. “Clary, I’d like you meet Isabelle. She’s our newest recruit here at the Institute. One of the best software developers I’ve ever seen, we’re lucky to have her.” Isabelle could feel the blush rising in her cheeks. Yes, she was confident in her skills, but having her boss heap praise on her in front of a beautiful girl was something else entirely.

“Isabelle, this is my daughter Clary.” They met eyes for the first time since the bookstore.

Clary gave a soft laugh, her nose scrunching up just so, and Isabelle wanted to die right there because this girl was that freaking adorable. “It seems we already met. At Luke’s store. It’s nice to see you again.”

Isabelle shyly adjusted her glasses as she responded, “Yeah… It’s nice to see you again too.”

“Well, I don’t want to hold up anymore.” Valentine started. “It was nice of you to stop by, sweetie. I can show you out.”

“Oh no! I’m sure Isabelle can show me out. That is, if you don’t mind.” Clary flashed a smile at Isabelle that nearly made her heart stop _again_.

“Uh, sure!” Isabelle answered, almost sounding too eager.

“Okay, great.” Clary said. She kisses her dad on the cheek before leaving with Isabelle. The two of them kept an awkward silence as they walked towards to entrance.

At the front entrance of the building, Clary stopped Isabelle. This time when she spoke, she actually sounded a little nervous. “Um, thanks for walking me out. I’m sorry I put you on the spot like that, even though my dad totally started it.” She giggled. “I just—I was happy to see you again.”

“Me too.” Isabelle replied.

“This might sound a little forward, but can I have your number?” Clary asked, holding her phone up in one hand. Isabelle noticed her phone case was a stylized bi pride design, which made Isabelle smile. “You’re really cute. And I wanted to ask you at the store, but my stepdad Luke was literally standing _right there_ and it seemed like you were with your brother. So it would have been just too awkward.”

“No, it’s okay.” Isabelle said, thoroughly blushing again, and reached for her own phone. They exchanged numbers.

“Thanks.” Clary said. “I have to get to class, but I’ll text you so maybe we can go out on a date sometime.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

With a grin, Clary left in the direction of the nearest subway station while Isabelle hung back at the entrance of Institute. She leaned against the door for a moment, holding her phone to her chest, embodying the image of a love-struck teen, even if she actually wasn’t a teenager anymore.

She looked down at the screen to see the contact card still open— _Clary Morgenstern-Garroway_ and she let out a giggle, an honest to god giggle.

She decided immediately to text the first person she could think of with the good news.

To Alec: _I got her number!!!!_

From Alec: _Whose number?_

To Alec: _Clary, the girl from the bookstore._ _Turns out she’s my new boss’s daughter and she stopped by the Institute._

From Alec: _Nice. You gonna text her?_

To Alec: _Of course!!!! OMG I’m so excited :DDDD_

From Alec: _I’m happy for you, Iz!_

Isabelle sent a quick thank you text and made her way back to her desk, nearly bouncing with excitement as she did.

**Author's Note:**

> As I mentioned earlier, I have a lot of headcanons that differ from or add onto the This World Inverted AU.
> 
> The ones I included here are:
> 
> The Lightwoods' being close to their maternal grandmother, who has a wealth of knowledge of Latin-American heritage and literature.  
> Alec being a massive literature nerd in more than one language.  
> Isabelle being a very awkward and adorable bisexual  
> Clary's parents being amicably divorced and Luke still being her step-dad. She even took on his last name, hence the Morgenstern-Garroway  
> The Institute basically being like Google, well-paying with a cool work environment. Fun stuff.
> 
>  
> 
> These are just my headcanons. I hope you like them. If you didn't, I hope they didn't prevent you from enjoying.  
> I may add more to this in the future if the inspiration comes to me, so we'll see.  
> If you want to talk headcanons or other Shadowhunter things, here's my tumblr: [lyannastarkweather](http://lyannastarkweather.tumblr.com/)


End file.
